1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic system connections and, more particularly, to connectors between circuit boards.
2. Description of the Related Art
Connections between two circuit boards of an electrical or electronic system are typically carried out by one or more types of connectors. A connector may include a pair of mating parts each having one or more signal connection components. In one type of connector, the signal connections may be pins. In another type of connector, the signal connections may be finger contacts for example. Depending on the application, other styles of connections may be suitable.
In many applications, one half of the connector pair may be mounted to one circuit board, while the other half may be mounted to another circuit board. The connectors may be mounted using various well-known methods such as soldering, for example. In one type of connector, each signal connection may be soldered to a board connection point or pad that has been manufactured on the circuit board. Some circuit boards may use through-hole connections for mounting the connectors, while others may use surface mount techniques. In either case, the connection point may have one or more signal wires or traces which are routed from the connection point to other places on the circuit board.
When mating two circuit boards together in the same plane, each of the halves of the connector pair may be mounted to an edge of a circuit board such that the boards may be mated together in the same plane. This type of mating may require no special routing or pin assignment. However, in situations where the two circuit boards being mated are not positioned in the same plane, it may be desirable to assign signals to connector contacts which may provide less signal degradation.